JTAS Aug 7

[Drifter]

This issue is a mixed bag. I love the Editorial, Daydreams, since Mr. Wiseman hits way to close to the bone on a couple of things, including the lottery ticket thing.

I"m not a big fan of Casual Encounters, but they are useful when trying to get together stats for a game. Two in one issue is a little much for me.

The one by Timothy Collinson is very good, even if I had to look up what a "dab hand" meant (althought I could tell from the context). The only slight drawback was the lack of GURPS stats, but she would be easily translated from the Mongoose stats. Otherwise I like the back story, giving a real feel of who she is.

The one by Richard Crowley, however, was something of a let down. It took a bit of reading to realize the character is meant to be from the Interstellar Wars period. There are some errors in the text (world number), and its not clear if she if a Vilani. I would assume so, being from a Vilani world, but her name is Terran. So what is a Terran doing out there? Or is it later than the 'default' adventure period? Why a merchant has good melee skills would be interesting to know, maybe fleshing out her homeworld, but its just there. The only redeeming features are the stats - I think he includes every version of Traveller there is. Since that is what I would use in any case, and just change up the back story to what I need, its well and good. Its also a nice guide as to how to translate on stat set to another But still, I except a little more, especially from a talented author.

Just my two cents.

[Drifter]

And another thing...

I used to like the Traveller News Service updates. They don't seem to have been updated in some time.

I would hope to see those again. Sometimes they were boring, sometimes exciting, but always a way to hook an adventure. Or at least provide some color and the idea of a living setting.